Of Love and Celebrations
by Good Kharma
Summary: Well, here it is, my first fic! Anyways, it takes place right after Pokemon 2000, and it's a AARN. That's all I can come up with at the moment, so sorry :) Well, please R/R, ok? Thankx!


***This takes place right after Pokemon 2000: The Movie, during a "victory celebration" and for the sake of the story, just use your imagination to pretend that Ash, Misty, and Melody are 16, Brock and Tracy are 18, and Jesse and James are both about 20 or so. It's no fun with a bunch of 10 year olds***   
  
  
Ash Ketchum looked out at the horizon, at the quickly setting sun. The sky was a bright orange transcending into a deep purple. He sighed to himself. He had just saved the world from certain destruction, but he couldn't get one single, solitary thought out of his mind. He recalled the recent battle he had just experienced, fighting the Legendary Birds in a duel that would have meant the eventual destruction of the planet if he had lost it. He also recalled his meeting with Lugia, the 4th Legendary Bird Pokemon. But that wasn't what was on his mind. It was Misty. He also recalled how she had risked her life to jump into the wind swept and dangerous waters to save him. Why? Why did she do that? But what was more important was.... how could he be so stupid?! He hadn't thanked her at all. They had been taken back to Melody's island (sorry i can't remember what it's called! i saw the movie ages ago!) for a big celebration in their honour and Ash had been thinking about her ever since. Ash was standing in Melody's backyard, which lead out to a cliff that overlooked the ocean. He, Misty and Tracy had been staying with Melody and her sister since "The Battle" 3 days ago, so they could stay for the celebration and Ash had soon found this spot where the view of the sunset was perfect and he could hear the Lapras singing in the distance to each other. He sighed again. He also thought about something else. He had started to find himself staring at Misty when they were hiking. He didn't pick quite so many fights with her any more. He also found himself worrying about her when she went of by herself in the woods, to gather firewood. He began to wonder why he had these sudden feelings. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a light flicker on in the house. He turned around to see Misty walking around in her room. Ash watched her for a minute, not exactly sure why. She walked up to her mirror and pulled the elastic out of her hair and began to brush it. "She sure looks pretty with her hair down and the moonlight shining on her" he thought. She turned and saw him looking at her from the ground. They both flushed. Misty gave him a small wave, which Ash returned, along with a smile. "She's my best friend, nothing more" he told himself firmly after she had closed her window.   
"Who is?" he heard a voice from behind. He spun around quickly to face Melody.   
"Uh, nobody" he replied hastily.  
"You can fool yourself but everyone else can see it as though it was written on your forehead" she answered, tartly.   
"Melody, I don't know what your talking about"  
"You like Misty, but you won't admit it"  
Ash spluttered stupidly, then answered, too quickly, "No I don't, now please go away, I don't feel like talking"  
"This is my house" she replied once more, with that same smart tone.   
"Oh yea"  
He gave up and let her stand with him, to watch the sunset. Just then, to Ash's relief, Tracy came outside to look for them.   
"Hey guys, what are you up to?" he asked. Before Ash could answer, Melody asked Tracy, "Hey Tracy, isn't it obvious that Ash likes Misty?"   
"Melody, will you please shut up!"  
But to Ash's surprise, Tracy answered simply "Duh"  
"My point exactly"  
Meanwhile, Misty was in her room, thinking about Ash. Unlike Ash, she had admitted to herself she was in love with him. She flopped on her stomach on the bed with a smile on her face. "I hope he asks me to the ball. But why would he, he only thinks of me as a friend. But he was staring at me from the ground like he was thinking of me. I'm so confused!" she said out loud to no one in particular. She drifted off into a confused sleep.  
The next day was the day of the big party. The girls all went out shopping for the day to buy some new clothes, because Melody and her sister decided (much to Ash's dismay) this was going to be a formal occasion, so they needed to buy some dressy clothes. This left Ash, Tracy and Pikachue on their own, doomed to pick out their own dress clothes. This was not a pretty sight, but in the end, they had managed to find some very spiffy and suave looking tuxedos, and a little bowtie and top hat for Pikachue.   
As the trio made their way back to Melody's house, Ash decided to expel the nagging question he had in his mind, by asking it.  
"Hey Tracy, what makes everyone so sure that I like Misty?" he asked. "Not that I do" he added stupidly, "but I just don't see why."   
Tracy smiled. He expected this from Ash sooner or later.  
"Well, Ash, it's obvious by the way that your always looking at her...."  
"I do not!" he interrupted.  
"when you think I'm not watching" Tracy continued, ignoring Ash "And how you blush when she says something nice to you and how you've been kinder to her lately....."  
"Ok, enough! I get it!"  
"No, you don't" and with that they trudged off in silence. But Ash was in inner turmoil. He didn't like her like THAT, did he? Maybe he did. But she was just his friend. Maybe she wasn't. Every reason he came up with to convince himself, his subconscious mind came up with a counter-attack.   
Later that afternoon, Ash was sitting in his room that he shared with Tracy, talking to Pikachue. He had pretty mush mastered Pikachuese after all these years.  
"Pikachue, what should I do? I mean, she's just my friend, but the way Tracy described it, it seems weird....."  
"Pika? Pikapikapi" (What? Oh you mean Misty)  
"Yea, what should I do?"  
"Pika pika chue chue pika kachue" (Just ask her to the dance)  
"What! I can't do that!"  
"Pika?" (Why not?)  
"Well, first of all, yea, ok, I guess I do like her, but I don't even know if she likes ME......"  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Ash went up to the door to answer it. It was Melody. Ash sighed; he was really getting tired of her showing up everywhere. But he didn't say anything, since this was, after all, her house.  
"What is it Melody?" he asked.  
"There's someone here to see you"   
Ash wondered who it could possibly be, when the visitor walked in. It was Brock.  
"Hey, Brock how are you doing!? What are you doing here?!"  
"Nice to see you too, Ash!" he replied, smiling. "I heard about your recent adventure from Misty and I had to come by to visit!" Just then, Misty was walking down the hallway from her room and stopped dead in her tracks.  
"Omigod, Brock?!" she ran up to him and hugged him saying "You never told us you were coming here when I called!"  
"I know, I wanted it to be a surprise!"  
"Great surprise!"  
"Well, you must be Brock. I'm Tracy" he said when he saw the big group hug.   
"Yep, and your Tracy right?"   
"Yep"  
Then, strangely enough, they walked off without saying a word to anyone, with Melody.  
Ash and Misty just stood there, shocked.   
"What was that all about?" she asked with a bewildered look on her pretty face.  
"I don't know." Ash replied.  
They both stood there slightly awkwardly for a few moments. Then Misty spoke up.  
"So did you get yourself a nice tux today?"   
"Uh, yea..."  
"So......" they both said.  
As he stared at his feet contemplating what to do, he made a decision. Ash mustered up all of his courage to say what he wanted to say for some time now.  
"You don't by any chance want to, uh, come to the ball with me tonight, do you?"   
Misty stood there for a moment with a look of shock on her face  
*Oh, God, she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to....why did I just do that?!*  
Then she smiled, and said, "Of course"  
He suddenly let out the breathe he didn't know he was holding.  
"Ok, I'll come by to get you...from the next room...at 7?"   
"Sure"  
Another awkward moment passed, then they went their own rooms.  
Misty walked into her room and began to silently jump for joy. He had asked her to the ball, just like she had wanted! She was happier now than she had been in a long time.  
Ash was in his room, also silently jumping for joy. But she probably thought he was asking her as a friend. But she had said yes! He went to find Brock and tell him.  
As the day passed by, the ball was drawing, close, and Ash, Brock and Tracy decided they should probably get ready. In their room Ash was trying desperately to straighten his bow tie, when Brock came up to him to give him a hand. "So, your first date, huh?" Brock asked, with a slight smirk on his face.   
"What?!" cried Ash, "This is NOT a date! We're just going to the ball together!"   
"Are you sure about that? Are you sure it's not a date?" Brock asked.   
"Of course not!" Ash answered. But in his mind, he was not so sure. Lucky for him, he didn't have any time to think about it anymore, before Tracey poked his head through the door, and said "You guys ready? It's 7 o clock."   
"WHAT?! ALREADY!?" cried Ash, beginning to panic. He looked himself over in the full length mirror. He had to admit, he didn't look bad. Well, better than usual. He had styled his unruly black and spiky hair to look halfway decent. His tux was neat, clean and wrinkle-free. Tracey and Brock also looked very well put-together. "Ready to pick up your date?" Tracey asked, in a very smug way.   
"It's not a date, dammit!"   
Brock could sense an argument coming and cut in swiftly by saying, "Hurry up Ash, the ball will start soon."  
Ash gathered his wits and stepped out into the hall and over to Misty's room. He hesitated slightly before knocking. *What am I getting myself into?* he thought, but his brained shut itself off when Misty opened the door. He took in a sharp breathe.   
  
Misty was wearing a long, pale purple ball gown that touched the floor. Her hair was gently curled and piled in a crown on the top of her head, with a few sparkly hair jewels thrown in. To his surprise, she was also wearing make up. She never wore any before, afraid it would tarnish her "tomboy" image. Around her neck was a thin gold chain with a pendant on the end. Ash recognized it immediately as the one he had given her for her birthday. It was a tiny, sapphire Vaporeon. He gaped at her, stupidly, for what seemed like, a year. Finally, he opened his mouth and he heard the words "You look amazing" fall from his mouth. She giggled and answered "Thanks, you look pretty good yourself" * He looks beyond "good". He looks downright handsome* she thought.  
  
When the couple went down the stairs and entered the back yard, they were amazed at how beautiful it looked. There were wrought-iron tables and chairs set up, each table with it's own umbrella, that was strung with soft lights. The air was filled with a scent which Ash recognized as a mix between the roses in the garden and the salty sea air. And Misty. She was standing next to him, with her arm looped around his. She smelled like sweet strawberries. He leaned over to her to get a stronger whiff, when he realized what he was doing. He blushed furiously, and backed away. Thankfully, Misty hadn't noticed this at all. He sighed. It was unavoidable. He would make a fool of himself in front of her tonight, at least once, unless he learned to think about what he was going to do before actually doing it.   
  
Ash and Misty walked towards a table near the dance floor, where Brock, Tracy, Melody Pikachue, Togepi (who was wearing a cute little flower) and another pair of people were sitting. He didn't recognize them until they reached the table. It was Team Rocket. Except they had gotten rid of their usual uniforms, and were dressed very formally.   
"What are you two doing here?" he asked, but not rudely, as they had helped him out a lot during "the Battle" "Actually, wait, it doesn't matter, I just want to say thanks for how you helped me out.....well, you know what you guys did"   
Jessie and James smiled triumphantly. Apparently they had found the recognition they deserved from this whole ordeal.   
  
Ash and Misty took their seats together and they chatted with the rest of the tables occupants all through dinner until the music from the band started up. Without any hesitation James asked Jessie "May I have this dance?" "Of course" she replied, without any usual witty or rude comment that would be expected from her. Brock and Melody also went up to the dance floor, and the same with Togepi, who was chirping with glee, and Pikachue in hot pursuit, making sure no one stepped on him, leaving Ash, Misty and Tracey alone. Tracey, not being as completely thick as he seems, mumble something like "I think I'll go and, uh, do something....." (#Well, maybe he is#) Ash squirmed uncomfortably in his seat for a moment, then looked Misty in the eyes and said, "You wouldn't want to, I dunno, dance, would you?" *Real suave, Romeo!* he thought, mentally beating himself up. But to his surprise and utter delight, she replied, "I'd love to" *Omigod, he just asked me to dance! Maybe he feels the same way about me too!* she thought. He lead her to the dance floor and took her hand in his and they began to dance, in each others arms. He felt like he was floating. They were both experiencing feelings of complete and total bliss and happiness, when Ash heard Brock whispering loudly to him from their table   
  
"Pssst, um, hello, Earth to Ash and Misty!" Brock hissed, with a wide, knowing smirk on his face.  
  
It took Ash and Misty almost a full second to realize that the music had ended a while ago, and they were standing, alone, in the middle of the dance floor, their arms around each other, not even moving. They broke apart quickly, and mumble some excuses, and went back to the table, both of their faces a queer shade of red. Both of them were too lost in their own thoughts, though, to dwell too long on any prolonged feelings of severe embarrassment.   
  
*What just happened there? Why did I do that? Oh, she probably thinks I'm the biggest dork on the face of the Earth! But then again, she didn't seem to realize what we were doing either.....*  
  
*Wow, that was so weird! I've never done anything so obvious! I hope, I hope he doesn't know! Oh, no.......*   
  
The reason the music had stopped was because Melody went up on a makeshift stage to make a little speech on what Ash, Misty and Tracey had done to save the world, and how heroic they were....they weren't listening until Melody began to say "I also witnessed something else that was very powerful...Love. The kind that makes people do crazy things, like jump in the icy, wave ridden waters, to save someone's life."   
  
Just then, Ash noticed Misty stiffen in her chair, and her pretty face had a pained expression on it. She was staring franticly at Melody, shaking her head vigorously. Her blue eyes were as wide as saucers. Melody kept talking, but quickly stopped when Misty's face turned from frightened to murderous. Melody skipped the rest of her speech, and concluded, by raising her glass and saying "A toast to Ash and Misty.....oh, and Tracey" she said as a sort of after thought. "and to Love" she said, looking directly at Misty. Ash also looked her in the eye and said "to Love."   
  
When the dance had finished, everyone slowly started to leave. But Ash had been thinking all night. He had decide he was going to tell Misty how he felt about her tonight. Melody's speech had made him realize that he DID love her. She probably didn't feel the same way, but he couldn't keep it bottled up inside. He saw her standing at the garden gate, under an arch of roses, saying good bye to Jessie and James. After they left, arm in arm, she stood there with a sad expression on her face  
Misty watched as the last of the guests began to leave.  
*I wish I could tell Ash how I feel. I love him so much, but he probably doesn't think of me as anything but a friend.*   
She felt a small tear start up in the corner of her eye, and slide down her cheek. Ash saw this from where he was standing, and immediately, was overcome with concern. He walked over to her, and cautiously wiped the tear from her face and asked her "What's the matter?" She quickly put on a happy face and said, "Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about what a great night it was tonight, that's all!" Ash wasn't completely convinced by this, but he thought she probably didn't want to talk about what was really bothering her, so he took her hand and said timidly, "I wanna show you something, will you come with me?" *he looks so sweet!* she thought, looking into his hopeful eyes. She couldn't refuse. She nodded. He lead her toward the far end of the back yard, and around the corner of the house. She took in a sharp breathe. It was lovely. There was a beautiful view of the ocean, and she could she nothing but miles and miles of blue sea. The stars were bright and the full moon was even brighter. She recognised the distinct sound of Lapras in the distance.   
  
"Ash, it's so beautiful!" she whispered. "I found this spot when we first came here, and I thought you'd like it, since you love the ocean so much."   
"Thank you" she said, looking in his eyes.   
They both stood there, together, for what seemed like a millennia, just enjoying each other's company, when Ash finally worked up all of the courage he had, to start the life altering conversation.   
"Misty, I've been thinking about something lately." he paused to look at her. *Here goes nothing*   
"Misty, I've been thinking of you. A lot. And, well, I think....I think...I'm in love with you. No, wait, I KNOW I love you."  
Misty slowly took in what he had just told her. Very slowly. *Omigod! he loves me too*   
"I love you too Ash!" and with that, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all her heart. For a moment, nothing seemed real. It was just Him and Her. And they both knew that's how it would stay.   
  
Unknown to the couple, Brock, Tracey, Melody, Pikachue and Togepi were all standing, with their heads out of the window above them, watching, with happy grins splashed all over their faces.  
"It worked! It worked!" Melody said, but was quickly shushed by Brocks hand over her mouth.  
"Shhhhhh, they'll hear you!"  
"You guys, do you think they suspect that this dance was a big excuse to execute our plan to get them together?" asked Tracey.  
"I hope not! It'll spoil the fun!" replied Melody.  
"Pika pikapi chachue chue pikachue!" (Yea, we wan them to think we had nothing to do with this, otherwise they'll be mad!)  
"Toge priiiiii! (Mommy and Daddy!) (#sorry, I had to do that!#)  
"I guess we should leave them alone" Melody said, going back into the room. "Let them, uh, talk things out in privacy!"  
  
Back on the ground, Ash and Misty reluctantly broke apart, and looked each other in the eye. They mouthed I Love You to each other, before settling down on a nearby stone bench, arms around each other. Neither of them ever wanted to let go. Ash rested his head on her hair. After a while of just sitting, Misty looked up at Ash and said "Do you think we should go in and tell the others?" He looked down at her and replied "Nah, what's the rush? And something tells me they already know" He nodded his head upwards, to the window where Brock, Tracey, Pikachue and Togepi were, unsuccessfully, being yanked back inside by Melody, all of them with happy smiles on their faces  
Misty giggle and sighed. She was so happy, and she knew that as long as she had Ash, and as long as Ash knew he had Misty, they would always feel like this. Forever.   
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing at all, so don't bother suing  
  
A/N: sorry I put you through that! It was my first fic! Thanx for reading, now take the next step and review!   
  



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